


Downpour

by cirquedusoleil



Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Alive Hale Family, Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Ambiguous/Open Ending, Freak Show, Hunters, Kidnapping, M/M, Siren Stiles, Slow Burn, Werewolf Derek, mermaid au
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-07-26
Updated: 2014-11-16
Packaged: 2018-02-10 13:32:49
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 4,171
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2026944
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cirquedusoleil/pseuds/cirquedusoleil
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Turns out, the Upper World was not all it'd cracked up to be.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Invisible Walls

**Author's Note:**

> No beta, so all mistakes are my own

"Are you sure about this? Because I'm totally not. In fact, I think we should just go home and forget this ever happen- " 

 

"Stiles!"

 

"Right, sorry Dad."

 

Jonathan Stilinski sighed, and wiped his hand over his face. The boat was approaching quickly, leaving very little time for delay. Stiles flicked his tail back and forth in agitation, his fins twitching in the current. 

 

It was his first time Singing, and he was extremely nervous. He was a Siren, one of the only few males in his colony, and he had just reached his sixteenth year of age. Sixteen was when Sirens developed their Voice, and could lure sailors into the sea to be drowned and consumed. 

 

Stiles could see a ship in the distance, a dark and bulky shape jutting into the water. Other Sirens were already trailing the vessel, eager to begin their Songs. Stiles' best friend, Lydia, was one of them, having already turned sixteen last year. Her beautiful red hair floated behind her like underwater fire. She caught his eye as she swam, and smirked at him. Stiles flipped her off.

 

"Stiles!" He cringed. He had forgotten that his dad was floating next to him. 

 

"Sorry again." he said sheepishly. His father sighed.

 

"Stop worrying, son. You'll do just fine. It's impossible for a Siren to be bad at Singing, even you can't possibly fail."

 

"Hey!" Stiles protested half-heartedly, his eyes fixed on the ship. It was only a few hundred feet away, and his fellow Sirens were started to swim towards the surface.

 

"Go, Stiles. I know you can do it. Just stay close to Lydia, she'll help you if you need it." John said. Stiles nodded, and pulled his father in for a hug.

 

"See you in a few, Dad." And with that, he swam towards Lydia and her shimmering green tail.

 

He pulled up next to her, shadowing her as she swam towards the surface. She turned to him, her face smug.

 

"Took you long enough." She said. Stiles stuck his tongue out at her.

 

"Yeah, yeah, like I didn't have to force you to the boat last year." Lydia whacked him over the head, and he hissed at her, his face shifting briefly. Her fangs flashed in return.

 

"Shut up, Stiles. Now stop dilly-dallying and go up there! You'll know when it's time to Sing." she said. Stiles bit his lip, and pushed himself towards the surface. As his head broke the water, he winced at the brightness of the sun. He rarely went above water, this was only his second or third time.

 

The ship loomed high above him, solid and wooden. He gulped, but backed up so he could find his target. Three other Sirens were next to him, waiting so that he could have his pick of Human.

 

Stiles' stomach fluttered as he saw a silhouette by a railing, looking down at him. His throat gurgled, something forcing his way up. The water beneath him swirled, and a funnel surrounded his tail. It lifted him up, and Stiles started to Sing.

 

The notes floated out of his mouth, deep and soothing and soft. All nervousness melted away as he grew closer and closer to his prey. The man was handsome, his hair pale and his eyes blue. His face was slack, entranced by Stiles' Voice. It was working. 

 

Stiles stopped rising right below the rail, the man leaning over and reaching for him desperately. His face was lovesick and frantic, his hands stretching for Stiles. Stiles reached his own hands up, touching the man's rough skin and wrapping around his wrists. His song grew louder and darker, and his face shifted. Just as he tensed his shoulders to yank the man overboard, the man's face changed. 

 

His expression turned triumphant, and Stiles found that suddenly it was his wrists that were being grabbed. His Song broke and his arms were pulled upwards, and he shrieked in terror. The water beneath him fell back to the sea, and he thrashed and bucked to get free. The man holding onto him shouted, and more hands latched onto his arms. 

 

They pulled him upwards, Stiles fighting and slashing and yelling. He could hear the Sirens beneath him shouting and splashing in confusion and fear. He called for them, called for Lydia, and screamed for his Dad as the men pulled him onto the ship. 

 

He hit the deck with a deep thunk, his tail thrashing and whipping anyone who got near it. Stiles' gills were starting to hurt, the harsh dryness of the air searing his sensitive lungs. He was panicking, still shrieking and clawing desperately. He was fully shifted, his face angular and teeth razor sharp. 

 

Three men were holding him down, pinning his arms whilst he tried to get free. They were yelling and grunting as they fought to keep him still. The wood beneath him scraped against his soft skin, splintering and burrowing into his arms. The lack of water was starting to weaken him, his lungs fighting for wetness and moisture. His struggles were growing weaker, and his throat was raw from screaming. His cries grew into whimpers and his thrashes shrunk into twitches and flails.

 

The men grinned in triumph, and lifted him up once again. He didn't have the strength to fight. They carried him a few feet across the deck, then abruptly dropped him. His heart skipped a beat as he fell into water, and his lungs expanded gratefully. He immediately tried to swim away, but slammed into an invisible wall. 

 

Stiles was confused, and tried to swim forwards. Again, he hit some wall that he couldn't see. He rested his palm against it, then his forehead. His eyes burned with tears that disappeared in the water. His shift melted away, defeat consuming him.

 

"Please, let me go!" he begged.

 

The men on the other side of the invisible wall leered at him, talking quietly and gesticulating with sharp movements. Stiles pumped his tail and swam backwards, moving until he hit another wall. He sunk to the bottom of the tank, and pulled his tail towards him. Another man walked up to the wall and the other men grew silent. 

 

This man was dressed differently from the others. The three who had captured Stiles were clearly sailors, their shirts a dirty white and their pants torn and ripped brown burlap. He had a deep blue shirt on that was perfectly smooth and silky, and his pants were black. His shoes shined in the sunlight.

 

He looked at a Stiles for a long time, inspecting his fiery red tail and then studying his pale face. Stiles looked him in the eye and shifted. He hissed and bared his teeth. The man just looked amused, and his mouth moved. Stiles couldn't hear what was said, but apparently it was an order because the three sailors saluted, then surrounded the tank.

 

Stiles whipped his head around, trying to see all three men at once.

 

"What - what are you doing, stop!" The men didn't listen to him. The tank was lifted, making the water shift and flow like it was actually the ocean. It was slightly comforting, but it didn't soothe Stiles' terrified confusion.

 

The sailors carried Stiles inside a small room with bars on one side. The bars looked out onto the deck, allowing Stiles to watch the sailors work. The men set him down in the room, then locked the barred door, leaving Stiles alone in the room. 

 

The man in the blue shirt was still watching him, even as the sailors worked around him. His stare was unrelenting. Stiles shivered under his watch, and wrapped his arms around himself. More tears drifted away in the water, quiet and unseen.

 

 


	2. Songs of Water

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Stiles had never been more scared in his life.

Two days passed slowly, inching along due to Stiles' state of constant fear. He flinched anytime a sailor walked past him, and spent most of his time curled up in the back left corner of the tank. The water was getting dirty, and Stiles hadn't been fed at all.

 

His gills were started to hurt again and his stomach was cramping from emptiness. The man in the blue shirt still checked on him frequently, never doing anything other than staring. Stiles had never been more scared in his life.

 

By the time they reached land, Stiles could barely move his tail. His eyes were drooping and he felt very nauseated. Sailors started dragging barrels and crates off of the ship, and three sailors came into his cell. Stiles didn't even have the energy to protest when they picked up his tank and started moving it.

 

He was carried off of the ship, and had he been in a better state would have noticed the goings-on around him. Other creatures were sitting in cages, some with human faces and some not. A half-fox half-human hybrid sat curled up in a corner of its cage, its tail tucked around it. A small boy that looked completely human yanked on the bars of his cage, yelling and protesting in a language that Stiles didn't recognize. 

 

He was loaded onto a cart next to a dirt covered woman and the fox-human hybrid. They didn't even look at him, just wallowed in their misery. Stiles could relate.

 

The man in the blue shirt walked up to them. Stiles didn't look him in the eye, instead staring at the necklace around his chest. It was a silver arrow pointing towards the sky. The man stood in front of him for a moment, then banged on the glass. Stiles flinched badly and covered his ears. 

 

As his hands raised, the water splashed above him and something hard and metal dug into his arm. He yelped as it lifted him roughly out of the water, the bones in his wrist creaking in protest. Calloused hands latched on, and someone wrenched his hair back, baring his neck. He squirmed and thrashed with his remaining strength, swinging his tail around and splashing water everywhere. 

 

"Stop it, you stupid animal!" One of the men holding him yelled, and whacked him on the side of the head. His head whipped to one side, yanking out some of his hair. Something circular and cold was wrapped around his neck and a clicking noise rang in his ear.

 

The men dropped him abruptly, and he sank to the bottom. His head ached, his wrist ached, and his neck was adorned with some strange metal necklace. He had been humiliated, manhandled, and called an animal. His face was flushed and his eyes burned. 

 

The two creatures beside him were given the same necklace. The fox didn't even bother to fight, but the woman needed six men to restrain her. Her face shifted into something canine, fangs and glowing eyes, but in the end she was overpowered. 

 

The cart started to move, and Stiles curled up in the corner of his dirty tank. He closed his eyes, but didn't sleep. The cart rocked and shifted, making his already upset stomach even more sick. He was so _hungry_.

 

He must have drifted off, because he awoke suddenly to a violent shock. He writhed as it traveling through his body, and his voice cracked as he screamed. The shock finally faded, and he was left panting on the floor of the tank.

 

The man in the blue shirt was standing in front of his tank, a sneer marring his face. He was holding a silver box in his left hand. He mouthed something that Stiles couldn't hear, but he imagined that it wasn't good. 

 

His tank was lifted again, and set on the ground. The woman and fox-human were set down next to him. Four other carts were next to the one that Stiles had traveled on, each also carrying three or four creatures. He was again lifted, and carried into a large brown building. His eyes widened at what he saw. 

 

There were cages lining the walls of the building, and some smaller ones in the center. Men, women, children, and beasts, all confined in cramped and dirty boxes. They all looked starved and desperate. They all had on the strange metal necklaces. 

 

Stiles was carried to an empty tank filled with cleaner looking water, and was unceremoniously dumped in. This tank was no bigger than his old one, but the clean water felt heavenly to his gills. A rectangular sheet of metal with holes poked in it was set on top of the tank, effectively blocking any attempts to escape.

 

The men carried his old tank out of the room, and came back in with more cages. The shifting woman was set down to his right, but he couldn't see where the fox was. Some of the creatures fought, but they only struggled for a few seconds before convulsing and clawing at their necklaces. Stiles suspected that the metal circle was the thing that had woken him up so painfully. 

 

The man in the blue shirt came into the building, and slowly started making his way around. The silver box in his hand was tilted towards Stiles, and he could see a bunch of black buttons all over the top. Each time the man pressed one, a creature convulsed. 

 

The man eventually came to a stop in front of Stiles, his face impassive. He studied Stiles for a minute, then opened his mouth.

 

"You are a Siren, correct?" he said. Stiles just stared at him. The man's eyes hardened. He pressed a button on his box, and Stiles cried out at the sudden pain. He writhed and whimpered as the electricity ran through him. He panted hard when it stopped.

 

"Answer me, beast. You're a Siren, correct?" the man said again, his voice still monotone. Stiles nodded quickly, not wanting to feel the pain. The man hummed, then moved on. Stiles whimpered, and curled up in his corner, sobbing in pain and humiliation.

 


	3. Stand Under My Umbrella

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Sing." He ordered.

 

Stiles didn't get a lot of sleep that night. The bottom of the tank was hard and uncomfortable, and the cries of the creatures around him never seemed to stop. When the door to the building opened and a man walked in, all noise immediately stopped. Stiles blinked sleepily at the blurry figure. He had dark hair, and pale skin. Through the distorted glass, his features looked angry. 

 

Stiles gulped, and watched the man carefully. The stranger went around to each of the cages, sliding food through the bars and dodging any vicious swipes of claws or fangs. He kept his head down, avoiding eye contact with the creatures. He winced every time a creature cried out or snarled. 

 

As he finally made his way to Stiles, he was forced to look up to see into the tank. His green eyes met Stiles', and they widened slightly. Stiles shrunk back, fear making his heart pound faster. The stranger hesitated, his eyes flicking briefly towards the right, before dropping the food into his tank and moving on. 

 

Stiles watched the dull brown goop sink to the bottom, his appetite completely gone. He forced himself to pick it up and take a bite, ignoring how it tasted like cardboard in his mouth. It sat like a rock in his stomach. 

 

The man was spending a lot of time at the cage next to Stiles', seemingly conversing with the woman inside. Stiles couldn't make out what they were saying, but they seemed very familiar with each other. Stiles was confused, but made no move to hear what they were saying. He just closed his eyes and curled up again. 

 

The man had just worked his way to the last creature when the door opened, and the man with the silver necklace walked in. The green eyed stranger turned sharply, and nodded his head quickly. His lips formed a name, one that Stiles couldn't figure out. The other man simply pursed his lips and made his way past the cages.

 

Stiles felt dread pool in his gut as the man stopped in front of him. The man just considered him, looking him up and down. Stiles tried to move backwards as much as he could. He tucked his tail protectively behind his torso, the vibrant red very faded and dull.

 

The man's hand shifted, and Stiles screamed. The strange metal necklace had activated, and he was convulsing from the pain. His lungs screamed for air as he was suddenly lifted from his tank and thrown to the ground. The dryness of the air scraped his skin and scales, and he desperately wanted water. The pain stopped, leaving him shaking.

 

"P-please." He forced out, his voice scratchy and weak. The silver arrow man just smirked.

 

"Sing." He ordered. Stiles stared up at him, confused. Sing? Why would he Sing for this man?

 

"Who are you?" He rasped, the question slipping out before he could stop it. The man's face turned to steel, and he frowned. He bent down and wrenched Stiles' arm up again, lifting his body and throwing it into the tank. The stale water was like heaven to his gills, soothing them with moisture. He gasped, and went back to his corner.

 

The silver arrow man continued to stare at him, like he was debating something. He finally sighed.

 

"I am Gerard. That is all a beast like you needs to know, other than that you'll be here for a long time." he said. Stiles whimpered, and bit his lip to keep it from wobbling. Gerard turned on his heel, and with one last look back at Stiles he marched out of the room.

 

A small movement in the corner of his eye had Stiles turning his head. The green eyed stranger was still in the corner of the room, his face impassive but his eyes angry. Stiles shrank back, and buried his head in his arms.

 

The day passed slowly, with the green eyed man coming in twice more for what Stiles guessed was lunch and dinner. The same brown ball was dropped into his cage every time, and Stiles forced himself to eat it. The man always paused in front of him, looking like he wanted to say something but never opening hid mouth. 

 

He always stopped for a few minutes in front of the lady in the next cage, his mouth moving rapidly. Stiles caught a few words here and there, but they kept their voices very low. 

 

The next morning dawned bright and early, and the green eyed man was there with the food. He went through the same routine, except for he cleaned some of the messes around the cages. Stray hairs were swept away, and cage locks were double checked. He barely even glanced at Stiles, but exchanged a few words with the cage lady. He left very quickly.

 

Stiles was beginning to nod off when a loud sound made him jerk his head up. A man and young girl were in the room, their eyes wide with wonder. They had smiles on their faces, walking around and looking at all of the creatures. Stiles stared, confused. Why were they here?

 

A few more people trickled in, and they all looked around. A group of teenagers had fun tapping on the tank glass, laughing when Stiles flinched and covered his ears. He shifted, snarling, and they backed away. He huffed, and curled back up. 

 

People came in and out all day, just looking and appraising. Most people were smart enough not to touch the animals, but one lady got clawed by the fox hybrid. She cried out as blood ran down her arm, and the fox hybrid was snarling one moment and on the ground the next. Her necklace must have been activated, Stiles mused. 

 

The lady left quickly, and the room cleared as the sky grew darker. Stiles was finding it more and more difficult to breath, the water in his tank still and dirty. He felt incredibly weak. The green eyed stranger came in again, and dropped the food. Stiles didn't even have the energy to grab it as it sank. The man stopped, and frowned. His eyebrows looked angry and thick.

 

He left the room, but quickly came back with a bucket. Stiles watched him through half-open eyes. The man dipped the bucket into Stiles' water, and dumped it onto the floor. It pooled over a silver metallic circle in the ground, and fell away. The man did this for a few minutes until the tank was half empty. He left again, and came back with a thick green rope. He stuck it into the tank, and water came flying out. 

 

Stiles lifted his head, and raised his arm weakly towards the fresh liquid. It felt incredible. Almost immediately, he could feel his lungs getting stronger, relishing in the oxygen rich water. The man filled his tank up to the top, and replaced the cover. He stared at Stiles for a moment before opening his mouth.

 

"I'm Derek." He said uncomfortably. The words sounded forced. Stiles tilted his head, saying nothing. Derek sighed, and turned away. Stiles watched him as he finished his rounds, and quietly left the room.

 


	4. I Wish That

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "I'm a Siren." he said finally. "What are you?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! So, I have good news and bad news. Good news, I WILL be finishing this fic. Bad news, the chapters will probably be a lot shorter. This wasn't supposed to be a very long story, but now I'm not so sure where it's going to go. It basically writes itself, I just provide the hands. ANYWHO, I hope you enjoy, and there will be more coming soon!

Stiles blinked his eyes open, staring out into the darkness of the building. The rest of the creatures were silent, asleep or too weak to move, so he didn't know what had woken him up. He brought his hands up to his eyes, rubbing the sleep out of them, and stretched. His tail flicked back and forth, swirling the water and making it slosh gently against the top of the tank. He turned his head to the right and saw nothing, just the side of a cage. He turned his head to the left and saw Derek.

 

Derek was talking quickly, animated and gesticulating wildly. His face was scrunched up and shadowed, half of it illuminated by a patch of moonlight. He kept turning his head over his shoulder, glancing back at the door. Stiles swore he saw flashes of blue in his eyes, but it could have just been moonlight in the water.

 

Yeah, that was probably what it was.

 

Derek ran a hand through his black spiky hair, then looked directly at Stiles. Surprise flashed across his face, and his mouth stopped moving. He stared at Stiles, and Stiles stared right back, unflinching. Stiles couldn't help but be curious, though. What was Derek doing, sneaking around in the middle of the night? To talk to the woman in the cage, no less. It didn't make any sense, to work the job that Derek did only to suddenly be friendly with one of the creatures. Stiles watched as Derek, said a few last words to the woman in the cage, then slowly walk over to Stiles' tank. 

 

At first, Derek didn't do anything but stare at him, green eyes piercing and unmoving. Then, slowly, the blue bled into the green until the original color was no more. Stiles blinked, and his mouth fell open. Derek's eyes dropped to Stiles' lips, and the eyes glowed a brighter blue. He seemed to shake himself, then his eyes flicked back up.

 

"What are you?" Derek asked, his voice muffled and deep. Stiles tilted his head, and his tail flicked idly. 

 

"Is it not obvious?" He murmured, forgetting that Derek probably couldn't understand him. But Derek seemed to hear him, and he sighed irritably. 

 

"Well, apparently not as obvious as you would think." Derek groused. Stiles felt the corner of his mouth turn up, and he pushed air through his nose, the bubbles floating jerkily up to the surface. 

 

"I'm a Siren." he said finally. "What are you?"

 

Derek's features went blank, a carefully constructed mask for his emotions.

 

"Who says I'm not human?" he asked. Stiles pursed his lips. Was Derek not aware that his eyes were glowing. Derek suddenly seemed to realize what was giving him away, and the blue blinked out. Stiles was surprised to find himself missing the glow. Derek suddenly stiffened, and his head turned sharply over his shoulder. Without another word he rushed out the back door, barely shutting it before the front door opened. A flashlight beam poked into the room, illuminating animals and rousing them from their sleep. Gerard followed the beam, his face stony and expressionless. 

 

He walked around the room, sometimes poking at animals or tightening the locks on cages. Stiles shut his eyes just before Gerard shined the flashlight into his tank, and he forced his tail to stop twitching. His vision changed from black to a muted red, then back to black. He waited a few moments before opening his eyes again, and saw Gerard stopped in front of the woman who Derek had been talking to. He stayed there for a few seconds, just keeping the light on her face, then moved on. He left through the back door as well, and even Stiles could hear it slam shut. 

 

Stiles looked at the woman in the cage, who was obviously pretending to sleep, then closed his eyes. 


End file.
